I vividly recall sitting at CEO Ed Clark’s table several years ago and him saying to us, “If any of you want my job, and I hope some of you do, you need to know it is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.” Being the CEO does not start and end within an 8 to 10 hour shift. You are the CEO all the time, including when you are out at the theatre or at the cottage. If there is a robbery, if there is a large fraud, if there is a lawsuit, you are on call.

If you are interested in or aspire to be in a senior executive or CEO role, I’d like to share some learned insights.

The role of the CEO is as tough today as it ever was. Many of you recognize this and some of you are watching your bosses and saying things like: “I don’t want to live like that”; “I would like that job. I think I could do it well, but I will not work like that”; or “I would like her job, but I will not work that hard/travel that much/make those sacrifices.”

It is completely okay to not to want those top jobs. It is ideal when you can set aside others’ expectations of what success looks like, know yourself, and chart your own path. However, if you aspire to those top jobs, have your eyes wide open.

The CEO job is 24/7. You can delegate tasks and accountability, but you still hold ultimate responsibility.

If you are interested in a partner role, the C-suite, the top job, here is my advice:

• Treat people well. Every day. Every time. Everyone.
  • You are elevated to leadership. While the board or the ELT determine your promotion, successful leaders arrive there on the shoulders of others. They are elevated to the most senior jobs in part because of how they treat people along the way.
• Seek feedback from others – your boss, your peers, your direct reports.
  • Be sure to ask for feedback, including from people who you think may not like you; you may derive the greatest insight from their answers.
  • Ask your boss (and your boss’s boss, if possible), “How does the organization view my potential? What is 1 thing I can do to improve?”
  • From the feedback you receive, select one area for personal or professional development.
  • Thank people for their feedback
• Get a coach, a mentor, or both.
  • Ask lots of questions. Listen more than you speak. If your company will not pay for a coach or external advisor, get one anyway. Take the initiative and make a commitment.
• Know yourself.
  • Take assessments. Consider the feedback. Think about what you really want to achieve in life. What is your personal version of success – and not just at work – in a whole life?
• Network. Network some more.
  • Networking involves first asking others how you can help them and then asking for help.
  • Build a community. Meet with people in other industries and in other geographies. Gather ideas. Implement them in your own company.
• Gain breadth of experience.
  • If you have always worked in IT, ask for a role in operations or marketing or sales. Broaden your experience and expand your web of relationships. Accept lateral moves. It is not a steady progression to the top of the hierarchy.
• Keep your eyes wide open.
  • The CEO job, the senior partner role, the president… These jobs are mentally, physically, and emotionally demanding. They require long hours and hard choices along the way.

If you aspire to these roles, good for you! But don’t expect the board, the situation, or the world to change such that you can occupy the job in a less demanding manner than it is today.

Join me in Calgary, AB on November 8, 2016 as I speak about The Change Starts Within: Habits of Highly Successful People at the Women’s Executive Network’s meeting. Click here to register.

My clients accelerate their results – increasing profitability, leadership performance, innovation and accountability. I would love to discuss how I might contribute to your success. Contact me today.

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